1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector with a locking portion.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H06-325814discloses a connector with a lock for locking a terminal fitting. This connector has a housing with cavities into which terminal fittings are insertable. Resiliently deformable locks are formed in the housing and deform in the process of inserting the terminal fittings. However, the locks are restored resiliently to lock the terminal fittings when the terminal fittings reach a proper depth.
The connector can be miniaturized by decreasing the size of each cavity. However, the width and thickness of the locks become smaller as the cavities are made smaller. Thinner locks may buckle when the terminal fittings are pulled in their locked state. The strength of the lock against buckling is proportional to a sectional area obtained by cutting the lock normal to the longitudinal direction thereof. The lock may be thickened to improve the buckling strength, but this leads to a larger connector. This problem could not be solved easily.
The invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object thereof is to strengthen a lock without substantial enlargement.